Five Heroes of Old
by Ether Of Insanity
Summary: About 500 years ago, 5 heroes battled against the dark forces of Necromancy. With the darkness vanquished, they too passed into the void... Will an inexperienced boy be able to find four others and take up the mantle of the Saviors of Victoria?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except maybe the storyline. Maybe I don't even own the storyline. But please don't come and own me. ._.

* * *

_circa 6th Sept, 1399. Perion.  
1.38am_

Clouds of black smoke roiled across a crimson backdrop of burning flames. Five figures were silhouetted against the raging inferno that once was the great town of Perion, facing what could have been a cross of an ancient hydra and a winged dragon.

The monster was at least eighty feet tall, with thirteen serpentine heads with long necks that gave them the range of a skilled bowmaster. Its massive body supported by equally massive limbs, with the forelimbs ending in four taloned digits, and the longer hind limbs had thick dense muscles that allowed it to run at speeds faster than any, when it bothered to run at all.

Huge wings that grew at the base of the necks provided the lift necessary for a body that size to soar at such an altitude, and constantly battered the lands of Perion with winds that any normal adventurer would have trouble standing in.

With a roar, the _Draco_, as it was called in that time, leapt with claws ahead, attempting to crush the five with its weight. The speed of the _Draco _was astonishing, but its opponent's were just short of phenomenal. With barely a whisper, they separated and regrouped behind the dragon in a blink of an eye.

The adventurers continued to bombard the _Draco_ with spells, arrows, stars, and blows disproportionate to the number of people it came from, but if anything, the monster hardly seemed to be affected.

With a whoosh, the thirteen heads of the accursed monster took in huge amounts of air to fuel the fire within, and breathed out in unison, creating a blaze that dwarfed even that which was burning Perion.

Time slowed to a crawl, and a muttered word from one of the figures created a blue-tinted bubble that encased the party, negating the white hot flames that touched the shield.

The battle continued in this fashion, a deadlock in which neither party could gain the upper hand.

Two days and nights passed, and finally one of the skilled scored a blow even the _Draco _could not ignore. One of the thirteen heads were sliced off, leaving a stump where it fell. Enraged, the _Draco _fought ferociously, and the battle between the two sides continued in a stalemate.

A week flew by, and the monster's heads were whittled down to but one, and only adrenaline and hope kept the party of five battling for their lives and for others'. The last head seemed to fight with extra vigour, as though the spirits of the other heads still lived, and were giving strength to the last remaining head.

The _Draco_ had already tried to escape, but the muscle tendons in one of its hind legs seemed to have been severed during the fight, and its wings were no better off, having been pierced through by numerous arrows and stars.

The final head was cut off, and the body toppled over, causing a tremor on the ground. Silence ensued, for the five heroes had martyred themselves for the peace of the world.

After fighting for a week and two days, they had unconsciously made killing the Scourge of Perion the sole goal of their lives, and now that it was done, all their hearts had given out simultaneously.

* * *

_Almost 650 years later, 14th June, 2012._

Twelve year old Gaia Tacet alighted from the wooden ship of Shanks, a level 10 beginner fresh from Maple Island.

Gaia was eleven and a half when he decided to go adventuring, wanting to follow in the footsteps of many before him, and yet surpassing them to attain the fourth job. He had left his home in Amherst behind in pursuit of his dreams, with it, his parents, and his younger sister, eight year old Joy.

His interests had always lain in the field of archery (_"You want to spend your life shooting sticks?!" his sister had exclaimed, but as always, was ignored)_, and he often envisioned himself holding an elaborate bow, complete with scrolls and the finest strings attainable, and shooting with such precision at a target so distant that it would seem invisible to the unskilled eye. How magnificent it would be, to hear the cheers of the crowd around him, as they beheld the arrow whizzing through the air towards the intended target.

Oh, how glorious, how triumphant he would feel.

And finally, at level 10, he was ready to take the first step towards becoming a legendary bowmaster.

He skipped his way towards the ticketing booth, and asked for transport towards Henesys, land of bowmen.

"That would be 120 meso, factoring in the 90% discount for beginners." The man had a long black ponytail, and spoke monotonously, as if he had been in the ticketing booth all his life.

_120 meso?! That's a little... _The 100 thousand meso he had been given by his father as a blessing was the only thing he had to his name, apart from paltry sums gained by killing monsters.

He was loathe to part with his "inheritance", as he believed in spending his meso on more important stuff like potions and equipment.

_It's either this or walk. And walking is going to take a looong time._ He declared to himself, and after a moment's indecision, he dug into the pouch and flung the coins onto the counter.

"To Henesys it is," murmured the boy, half to himself.

A weird sense of displacement, and Gaia was transported towards Henesys.

* * *

_"Nimble feet," _he cast the spell, feeling a slight drain on his energy, and yet his feet seemed faster, his body lighter. Gaia sprinted towards the tallest building in sight, which was in fact, a tree so intricately carved and perfected by the elfin bowmistress Athena Pierce herself that it seemed more like a work of art than a mere structure to live in.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he walked on the stone path towards the abode of the legendary bowmistress.

He took a deep breath, and knocked on the wooden door.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay. Finished. Review! And maybe I'll think its nice. Oh and if you thought the first part was a little skimpy, it's a summary. The full length blow-by-blow shall be written later. In a separate story.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Anything at all. Nothing.

* * *

"Come in," murmured Athena Pierce, rubbing her tired eyes. It was only four in the afternoon, and she already had piles after piles after piles of paperwork to be handled, forms to be filled, and proposals to consider. Being the Wise of Henesys was no easy task.

_With any luck, it'll just be an ordinary level 10 beginner looking for a first job advancement, and not more paperwork._ She knew she wasn't supposed to think like that, but responsibility was hard when faced with ever mounting work to be done.

Hinges creaked, and a short, almost scrawny boy poked his head inside and peeked into the room.

"Is this..." He started, stuttering a little,"Is this where I get my first job advancement?"

_I suppose I'm lucky this time._ Athena let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief.

"Yes, come in," the Bowmistress repeated, her voice not betraying her lethargy at the day's proceedings.

Gaia, for of course it was he, shuffled into the room, casting his eyes around at his surroundings. To his surprise, the Bowmistress lived quite simply, having just the basic commodities. A long wooden table was placed at the far end of the room, and she sat behind that table. Stacks of paper surrounded her, disturbed by the occasional breeze, weighed down by small wooden paperweights that must have been heavier than they looked.

"I'd like to be an archer," Gaia spoke with a slightly stronger voice.

Athena beckoned with a finger, closing her eyes and concentrating for a mere moment to sense his physical capabilities, dexterity and strength, while he walked across the room.

The boy felt a presence in his mind, yet he was not afraid, as it radiated kindness and compassion. At the same time, it felt as if it was old, old beyond measure, as well as wise, wise beyond compare. The presence vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, but it left behind an aftertaste, bittersweet, bitter for a fraction of a second after the separation, and the sweetness came after, when he recalled how the presence felt.

Gaia was jerked out of his reverie as Athena grabbed his hand, studying his palms.

"I guess you'll do," she spoke after a while. Murmuring a few lines of Elvish text, she infused the dark haired boy with a little power of her own. That power would regenerate in an hour's time, but would be needed by the boy to kickstart his training, as well as give him extra vitality and mana. That amount of power might seem like peanuts to a person of Athena's experience and age, but to Gaia it would feel like an extra level, all on it's own.

Gaia's eyes widened as he felt the power suffuse him. He felt instantly stronger, more powerful, more dexterous, more nimble.

Athena Pierce handed Gaia a green book entitled "Bowman's Basics", saying, "Train hard, learn well. I will be here if you have questions. Once you have reached your thirtieth level, come back to find me, and I will judge if you are to continue on to the second tier of the art of archery."

The short boy bowed a full ninety degrees, thanking the Wise for her gift. With barely concealed haste, he walked, as slowly as he could bear to, out of the house before dashing across the town towards Henesys Hunting Ground I. He had heard it was a good place to train for levels 10-15, and decided to give it a try.

* * *

Gaia cursed himself for forgetting to buy a bow, an essential necessity for all bowmen, skilled or unskilled, high or low leveled. Going to the armor shop, he asked for the bow with a level 10 requirement, a War Bow. It had a dull, silvery handle, with blue upper and lower limbs. The string wasn't very high quality, probably made out of fiber, but to him, it was the best bow in the world, as it was the only one he could wield. He took out a wad of cash, and counted three thousand meso for the bow.

"Hey kid, if you buy this last set of armor I have, I'll give you a package deal of ten thousand total. And I'll throw in some arrows," the old man in the blue robe said, grinning.

It was a good deal. With barely a hint of hesitation, Gaia counted another seven thousand and slapped it on the counter. He donned the green archer top with brown sleeves, slipped into a matching green pair of pants, and put on something that looked like half a winter melon.

With that, he proudly marched off to the hunting grounds.

* * *

Athena Pierce watched Gaia run across the town, then run back to the armor shop. The drain in her powers had been slightly more than usual, but for her to have noticed, it had to be of some significance.

She hadn't meant to infuse that much power, but it just slipped out. She frowned - it wasn't like her to lose control. She hadn't since... forever.

Athena groaned. It just meant more paperwork if it got out.

However, she evaded the question that dug deep into her mind and stayed there, like a buried splinter.

_If she hadn't meant to impart that much power, did that mean that the boy had been the catalyst?_

* * *

_"Concentrate. Put your mind at the tip of your arrow, and gather some of your mana there. Imagine reinforcing the tip's sharpness with your mana, and release the arrow when the mana is at it's sharpest." _Gaia nocked his arrow, and screwed up his eyes, concentrating, forming an image in his mind. Opening his eyes, he took aim and fired.

"Arrow Blow!" An arrow of blue blasted out of the bow, and headed straight for the hapless blue snail. With a squeal, its soft body melted, leaving only the shell behind. Gaia scooped it up and stored it in his backpack, lest he needed it sometime later.

The violet-eyed boy felt a slight drain in his energy as he released the arrow, severing his connection with the mana he left on the arrow.

_So this is what it feels like to use mana._

* * *

Author's note: Finished! Hope you like it.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: The first few chapters are quick to come, but my brain juices are being fried by differentiation, exothermic reactions and dicotyledonous plants.

* * *

After half an hour of striking snail after snail after blue snail, coupled with the occasional slime and orange mushrooms, Gaia began to feel tired. No matter how hard he tried, he could not summon the concentration needed to bring forth mana from the depths of his soul. Arrows he shot sometimes flickered weakly with blue, but hardly dealt enough damage to kill an average slime.

Breathing in deeply, he tried again; but the magic eluded his grasp.

"Dammit," he muttered, frustrated with himself.

"Looks like you need some help," a voice said.

Gaia looked around, and saw a boy wearing a tattered pointed hat and twirling a wand. A mage. He had pale coloured hair, almost white, and yet tinged with yellow, and his eyes were the color of sapphires.

"Name's Arvel. Arvel Ciar. I'm thirteen." Arvel held out his hand. Gaia took it, and shook it firmly.

"So, what's wrong?" the blue-eyed boy asked.

"This." Gaia concentrated, releasing an arrow sparingly tinged with blue.

"Err... Is that supposed to happen?" Arvel cocked his head, as if inspecting a rare specimen of plants.

"No."

"Oh. Right. I knew that."

Gaia rolled his eyes, saying, "I'm supposed to be drawing upon my mana and shaping it on the arrow, but I can't seem to summon anything."

Arvel tossed him a blue potion. "Drink it. A blue potion replenishes your mana. I hope you do know that your mana reserves aren't infinite. Your body does recover mana, but it's so slow that it's hardly of use. Unless the person in question is a mage. Mages have higher mana regeneration rates, due to their bodies being more finely attuned to magic."

Immediately, Gaia popped off the wooden cork, and drank the potion. It tasted like water, yet subtly unlike water. It tasted bitter, yet sour. It tasted sweet, yet spicy. It was a million flavors in one, yet was one flavor in millions. After draining the bottle, he felt refreshed, and after reaching for his mana, believed that it was easier to cast Arrow Blow.

And so it was.

"Arrow Blow!" Gaia roared, concentrating and taking aim at the nearest snail. The arrow flew whistling through the air and struck true, killing the snail. This time, though, it continued on, killing another snail before dissipating into thin air.

Gaia took a step back. Arrow Blow was meant for one target, not two. He shrugged. Maybe he sharpened his mana too much, but of course, one could never deal too much damage.

Gaia thanked Arvel for the blue potion, offering to pay for it. The older boy declined, saying the mana it replenished was too little to matter to him anyway.

"By the way, that was one cool attack," Arvel said. "But I have to go. I'll give you my number."

After a few hurried scribbles, he ran into the distance, calling for the taxi.

* * *

Another half hour of training, and Gaia leveled. He felt his multiple cuts heal, and his mana replenished as blue light encircled him. He decided to take a break, and read the bowman manual again.

_"Critical Shot: Sense your enemies weakness with your hawk-like vision to score a fatal strike. Requires no mana to work, and yet can work in conjunction with mana-consuming attacks as well."_ Critical Shot. To be able to deal powerful blows without the use of mana was tempting, but the thought of being able to deal more damage using Arrow Blow was irresistible.

Usually, a monster's weak spots would be around its eyes, so Gaia attempted to aim at the eyes.

Anything but the shell for snails, and right between those two giant eyes for slimes. Sometimes he missed his mark, sometimes he didn't. But when he did, he was rewarded with spectacular sights. Snail shells melted, slimes imploded in a million pieces. Not that he was sadistic, but there was a grim satisfaction that marked the fact that he wasn't as weak as he thought.

_Now then, let's take a look at that Double Shot._

* * *

_"Double Shot: Direct mana into your arms with the intention of strengthening them, allowing them to get stronger for a brief moment, thus allowing enough power for two shots to be fired at high speeds, dealing high damage."_

This skill took much longer for Gaia to learn, for it required: firstly, the channeling of mana into the arms; secondly, the intention of strengthening them; and thirdly, in that briefest moment of the surge of strength, the bowstring had to be pulled and released. Only bowmen had the reflexes fast enough for it to be possible, for they had the highest dexterity in all of Victoria and Ossyria.

After channeling the mana into his arms, he felt a monstrous surge of energy. However, it barely lasted for half a second as the mana leaked through the pores of the skin, taking along the strength that came with it. Gaia stood there, stunned into submission by that feeling of strength, of power.

He nocked two arrows, and repeated the process of directing mana into his arms, instinctively drawing upon his bowstring the moment his muscles started bulking up. The tension in the string reached its maximum, and Gaia released it. With a twang, the arrows shot through the air, taking out an orange mushroom.

He got the hang of it before long, and was practicing hitting the same spot so that both arrows could score a critical hit. Gaia felt that Double Shot was superior compared to Arrow Blow in many ways. Even though Arrow Blow did more damage per arrow, Double Shot's combined damage far outdamaged Arrow Blow. Also, he had a greater chance of hitting a critical with two arrows rather than one.

Gaia thought of strengthening his arms long enough to deliver a powerful punch, but his mana capacity as it was, was inadequate to fuel his arms long enough to strike with impunity.

Still, Double Shot was one mean skill.

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Author's note: I was bored. So here's a random chapter!

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